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Wet Willy's Wash Center boasts a state-of-the-art, high-performance automated gantry system capable of washing a wide variety of vehicles in a 12-minute cycle.
CELINA - Wet Willy's Wash Center is now open in what has been dubbed Crossroads Commerce Park on U.S Route 127 near the intersection of State Route 219.
Located on the freshly built, privately funded Eagle Drive connecting Crossroads Commerce Park to U.S. Route 127, Wet Willy's is a 12,500-square-foot facility featuring a twin-bay full-service wash and auto detailing center.
It's owned by brothers Erik and Nick Grey, and Rick Kremer and Scott LaGuire.
In addition to providing wash and detailing services for semitrailers, sedans, SUVs, trucks, vans, boats, pontoons, RVs, campers and UTVs, Wet Willy's is designed to play a vital role in enhancing biosecurity protocols to mitigate the risk of animal disease transmission.
"It all came about a year and a half ago, two years ago, when we really wanted to bring a car wash to this area. We worked with (Mercer County Community Development Director) Jared Ebbing on finding where might be a good spot for a car wash," said Erik Grey. "And he led us to this property."
Wet Willy's Wash Center boasts a state-of-the-art, high-performance automated gantry system capable of washing a wide variety of vehicles in a 12-minute cycle.
Aiming to provide a premier vehicle wash service, the men reached out to the Kentucky manufacturer of a high-performance automated gantry system capable of washing a wide variety of vehicles.
"This is a custom piece of equipment. There's only a few that exist," Grey said, pointing to sensors which detail a vehicle's profile to ensure precise cleaning of its contours. "The full machine runs on tracks and it will profile the truck."
The automated process washes all areas of a vehicle - sides, undercarriage and top - in speedy fashion. It features adjustable cleaning arms, high-pressure water jets and specialized nontoxic, biodegradable detergents.
Open now for about a month and a half, Wet Willy's sees as many as 35 semitrailers on a good day.
"Our 12-minute cycle is really advantageous to the guys that want to get moving," Grey said. "That's the advantage of our quick, efficient wash cycle: We can move them pretty quick. So even if we are very busy, we can move through fairly efficiently."
Moreover, Wet Willy's advanced disinfecting system keeps semitrailers in compliance with strict biosecurity standards, which are of paramount importance in an age of bird flu and other highly contagious diseases. Before a semitrailer is processed through the automatic wash, the inside of its trailer is manually cleaned.
Wet Willy's has already established working relationships with several area poultry operations.
"We've met with them and we established what protocol their trucks (follow). These trucks are coming from all over, California and the West Coast," Grey said. "They come to Mercer County and pick up these eggs from these farms. But we set those standards with the farms."
When a semitrailer leaves Wet Willy's, it's ready to arrive on site at a farm.
"The farms won't accept the trucks unless they have a receipt that says they've been washed within 50 miles of the farm and within six hours of their arrival," he said.
An employee applies a brush to a semitrailer undergoing a wash at Wet Willy's Wash Center.
Semitrailers are certainly expected to make up a good amount of Willy's Wash's customer base, but the operation is capable of cleaning nearly any type of vehicle.
"We want to wash cars in here, pickup trucks, but our eventual plan is to put a tunnel car wash on the other side of this building, connected to the building," Grey said. "Then we would have a complete wash center, detail shop, large bay for big vehicles, and then the tunnel car wash."
Wet Willy's full-detailing shop offers numerous services, including complete interior and exterior detailing, paint correction, headlight restoration, ceramic coating and detail packages for all types of vehicles.
The business is managed by Joey Looney and open 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday.
Co-owner of Wet Willy's Wash Center Nick Grey, left, discusses a wash package.
Wet Willy's is the second business to open in Crossroads Commerce Park.
JB Truck Services and Parts opened its second location at 4691 U.S. Route 127 within Crossroads Commerce Park. The site was heavily damaged during a severe wind event in June and is currently being rebuilt.
Grey also plans to soon open Eagle View Storage at 4701 Eagle Drive. The business contains 104 storage units of varying sizes.
Three other surrounding lots - a 10-acre parcel, 4.5-acre parcel and 8-acre parcel - within the development are available for purchase. The lots are build-ready sites, with sanitary and stormwater infrastructure in place.
"We'll be really looking forward to the full vision taking place over the next few years as others join us in the development and put something on the land over here," Grey said.
Wet Willy's offers wash and detailing services for semitrailers, sedans, SUVs, trucks and other vehicles.
